Mayor cancels Texas GOP convention

As COVID- 19 cases and deaths spike in Texas, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner canceled the Republican Party’s in- person convention scheduled for next week.

“The public health concern for our first responders, convention workers, and those who would have attended weighed heavily in our decision making,” Turner said on Twitter.

The convention was scheduled to take place from July 16- 18 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston.

“Houston is a hot spot right now in a global pandemic and we cannot have thousands of people gathering inside the George R. Brown,” Turner said at a news conference Wednesday.

The mayor said the city of Houston looks forward to hosting future conventions at a safer time.